Wiper



Feb. 18, 1941. w FAslG TAL 2,232,658

wI'PER Filed Nov.v 25, 1938 2 sheets-sheet 2 Bnvenfor Patented Feb. 18,1941 UNITED sTATEs PATENT oFFicE WIPER New Yorkv Applicationnovembr z3,193s, serial No. 241,940

2 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for wiping sleet, frost and the likefrom surfaces upon which they have become deposited. More particularlythe invention relates to wiper blades and fillers :i` therefor of thetype which carry a supply of the water soluble anti-freeze materialwithin a pervious bag.

The devices such as those shown vand described in the prior Patents Nos.2,009,377 and 2,018,338 lo. have proven highly successful and have beenmanufactured and used in large numbers particularly for the clearing ofautomobile windshields during sleet andsnow storms.

One object of the present invention is to i prove the devices of thetype shown in these prior patents by reducing so far as possible thewidth without reducing substantially the quantity of anti-freezematerial in theavailable supply.

Another object of the invention is lto provide a device which will lbemore economical to use.

because capable of reilling with additional antifreeze material when theoriginal supply has become exhausted.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved device whichwill be more -economical to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings.

In these drawings we Ahave shownra preferred embodiment of ourinventionand certainmodications thereof. These have been chosen with alview to illustrating th'e invention and the best Way of using the same,in order that others skilled in the art may fully understand theinvention and the principles thereof so that they may be able to embodythe invention in various forms and to modify it so as best to meet therequirements of any particular use.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an automobile with the device of ourinvention in use;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of a wiper blade embodying ourinvention shown on a larger scale; y

Fig. 3 is a top plan view;

Fig. 4 is a view in end elevation of the same;

Fig. 5 is a view in cross section of the same;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal section showing the connectingclip;

Fig. '7 is a view showing the back being mounte on the bag and filling;

Fig. 8 is a top plan View of the bag and filling without the back;

Fig. 9 is a phantom lview in side elevation of the bag with the fillingbeing inserted therein;

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9 showing a slightly differentembodiment of the invention in which three or more sticks are used inthe filling instead of two.

Referring to the drawings, We have shown in Fig. 1 a portion of anautomobile having windl shield glass .I0 exposed to sleeting, forexample,

by a rain or wet snow falling while the air temperature is a few degreesbelow freezing so that, upon striking the cold surface of the glass, therain on snow becomes frozen onto the glass and cannot besatisfactorilyremoved by an ordinary rubber squeegee wiper blade.

According to the present invention, the blade Il, connected vto theordinary wiper arm l2 of a windshield wiper motor device I3, serves toremove this sleet or snow by wiping the glass with a blade saturatedWith a water .soluble antifreeze material in which the snow or icedissolves to form a solution which does not freeze until a much lowertemperature. In this way the area of the glass within the scope of theswinging blade is kept clear and free from ice and snow. This action issimilar to that described in the prior Patents Nos. 2,009,377 and2,018,338.

.The blade embodying the presentv invention diers, however, from theblade shown in the prior patents primarilyr inthe formation of the backand in the fact that the bag is not completely and permanently attachedto the back but is removable therefrom so that when the supply ofanti-freeze material has become exhausted the bag can be removed fromthe back andk relled with a new supply of anti-freeze material and thisrefilled bag or a new bag and filling both can be inserted into the bag.Our invention is concerned particularly with the structure .of the backyand the combination of this with other structures by which this resultis madel possible and practicable.

In the case .illustrated in Figs. 2 to 9 inclusive, thelling may consisto-f a pair of compressed salt sticks l5 tightly fitted within the bagI6. This bag IB is, as shown, continuous along the face and two sidesand is seamed at the end and part way from each-end along the backleaving an open slit lcentral along the back. Through vthis slit I1 thesticks I8 may be inserted into veach end, abutted vend-to-end at themiddle as -shown in vFig. 9, and pressed vinto position and into a tightt within the bag as will be obvious from Fig. 9. In. this position thebag closes again over the back naturally and automatically; `it may, butneed .not Ebe sewed or sealed together at this slit.

The back I8, as clearly shown in the drawings, is designed to form astiff pressure distributing member by which the force from the Wiper armI2 is distributed to the sticks of anti-freeze material, and it isprovided with side members adapted to engage the sides of the llerassembly to hold the bag and filling assembled with the .back and todistribute lateral force for moving the assembly across the surface tobe wiped.

In the case shownJ the back is made of a simple strip of corrosionresistant sheet metal bent to form a central longitudinal rib I9 andwith side portions bent 'down at 20 to form a channel slightly narrowerthan the width ofthe filling so that when the filling and bag areinserted into this channel these side portions of the back will pressresiliently against the filling and clamp the bag between them and thellng.

In the example shown, the extreme edgesoi the strip of which the back isformed are bent inwardly at 2I so as to form a narrow ridge on which theactual contact between the back I8 and the filling or bag I6 occurs.This has the advantage that it gives a more secure engagement with notendency to expel the filler.

Since, as will be observed, the engagement of the back with theremainder of the blade depends primarily upon the pressure relationbetween the side portions 2I and the filling of the bag I6, it isimportant that there shall remain within the bag at least a strip 22near the back of the lling which is adapted to withstand the compressionexerted by the side members 2l) on the back I8. It isy importantlikewise that this compression strip should continue to serve thisfunction until substantially all of the available supply orantifreezematerial has been consumed. `It should, therefore, be sufficientlywater-resistant so that it does not dissolve away nor disintegrate bybeing wet for relatively long periods of time. A convenient way offorming this strip 22 is to impregnate a part of the stick ofanti-freeze material adjacent the back with a water-resisting binder, asfor example, a lacquer or paran or a resinous binder. In this case thecompression strip is integral with the stick of anti-freeze material. Ora water-resisting compressed fiber board, e. g., about if to 1/8 of aninch thick, may be placed in the bag over the stick of anti-freezematerial. A very desirable material for this purpose is a compressedasphalt-impregnated board which is now in common use in automobile bodyconstruction. This strip is cut to substantially the same width as thestick or sticks of antifreeze material and inserted into the bag at theback of the stick as shown at 22 in Figs. 5 and 6.

In order to facilitate the assembly of the back with the filler,consisting of the bag I6 and the stick I together with any compressionstrip 22 which may be used therewith, the back is designed, in thepreferred embodiment shown, with the sides 20 slightly flaring at oneend 23 so that at this end only the normal width of the channel betweenthe sides 20 is slightly wider than the ller. Thus, when the back is tobe assembled with the filler the end 23 is first slipped over the oneend of the filler, as shown in Fig. 7. This is easily accomplishedbecause of the greater width of the channel at this point. Then, holdingdown the end 23, the back I8 is swung downward into full engagementwhich occurs by a progressive springing apart of the sides 20 as thefiller is progressively pushed between them. This leaves the back in astrongly spring pressed engagement with the ller.

In Fig. 6 is shown a portion of the back broken away to expose theconnecter clip by which the device is connected to the wiper arm I2 fortransmission of force therefrom in a direction toward the surface beingwiped and laterally thereof for moving theblade acrossthe surface. Thisclip is made of a simple vstamping looped back upon itself,v as shown at25, and having portions 26 en- .gaged in the looped edge extendinglaterally beyond the rest of the clip. The clip is inserted through aslot cut in the centra-1 rib I9 of the back I8, and its insertion islimited by the projecting part at 26. Advantageously but notnecessarily, the rclip :is rigidly secured in this position, e. g., vbyspot welding.

It is an important advantage of our invention that the back is capableof reuse several times and, therefore, may be made of expensivecorrosion resisting materials, such as stainless steel, Monel metal,etc., which will not deteriorate even under adverse conditions ofstorage and will remain brightr and in good condition even after longuse.

Although in the above a particular embodiment of the invention isdescribed which is now considered best adapted for use in automobilewindshield wipers, nevertheless, as already stated above, the inventionmay be embodied in numerous different forms. For example, the use of twosticks, as shown in Fig. 9 is not essential to the invention, and anyother number may be used. If a'single stick is usedA it s, of course,necessary that the slit along the top of the bag should extend to atleast one end when the filling stick is inserted into the bag. Thisleaves the appearance of the bag vnot quite so near as where the slit isentirely covered by the back but obviously the slit may be sewed up orotherwise closed after the stick has been inserted. In Fig. 10 isshowna. similar ernbodiment of the invention using three sticks insteadof two and obviously any larger number could be used in a similar way.

Although the back' I8 is shown as a simple strip bent to a shape whichcan be done by stamping short lengths of strips or by rolling the stripcontinuously, it is not essential that both the side members and theback rib should extend the full length of the blade and it is onlynecessary that the side members should be sumcient in strength, to holdbag I5 in position against the glass while it is connected to the back.Although the method of application shown in Fig. 7 has been foundeasiest and most desirable, it will be readily understood that the backmay be engaged at the opposite end of the filler and slid longitudinallyinto place; and where this method of insertion is used it is notessential that the side members of the back should be resilient. Theymay engage in a groove or by compression of a resilient strip within thebag, used as the compression strip. Although it is important to make thecompression strip water resisting, a certain amount of solution of thestrip may be permitted provided that it retains its stiffness as againstthe compression by the side membersand provided that the side membershave sufficient resilience to move in to the extent required by suchdissolving of the strip and without entirely losing their resilientpressure.

'I'hese suggestionsare only a few examples of the numerous changes andmodifications which can be made.

Certain features of the device described above and shown in theaccompanying drawings which are the lsole invention of one of us aremore particularly claimed and described in a copending applicationSerial No. 204,540, led April 27, 1938.

What we claim is:

1. A wiper for sleet, frost and the like, which comprises a bag of waterpervious material, a filling in said bag of soluble anti-freeze materialin compressed block form, a water resisting cornpression strip at theback of said filling, and a back comprising a resilient channelled metalstrip slightly ared at least near one end thereof and having its sidesspaced to receive and grip said compression strip with the bag clampedbetween, and means on the back for connecting it to a wiper arm of amechanical Wiper mechanism for transmitting force from said arm to saidback in a direction toward the surface to be wiped and transverselythereto for moving the wiper across said surface.

2. A wiper for sleet, frost and the like which comprises a bag of waterpervious material, a

filling in said bag of a water soluble anti-freeze material at the facethereof and including a compression strip near the back thereof, a backcomprising a resilient channelled metal strip with its sides turned upfrom the back to form a channel of width approximating that of saidcompression strip and with its side edges looped back under the sides ofthe channel with width less than the thickness of the compression stripwhereby the inturned portions of the loop are clamped onto thecompression strip by the resiliency of the channneled strip to form anengaging portion for engaging said compression strip and the bagbetween.

WAYNE FASIG.'

PAUL A. KRIDER. RAYMOND A. RODRICK. ADIIVJI'IRI C. ABDELNOUR.

